Fertilizer stocks rally

Key benchmark indices were marginally higher in early afternoon trade. The barometer index, BSE Sensex, was up 25.55 points or 0.15%, up about 35 points from the day's low and off almost equal points from the day's high. The market breadth was positive. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) edged lower.

Banking stocks rose after recent reports that the Cabinet has cleared the much awaited Banking Law (Amendment) Bill. Axis Bank rose on strong Q4 earnings. ICICI Bank extended Friday's gains triggered by robust Q4 results. IT pivotal were lower after latest data showed US economic growth eased in the first quarter of 2012. Fertiliser shares rose across the board on hopes good monsoon may spur demand for fertilizers on robust crop cultivation.

The market trimmed gains after regaining strength to move into the positiveterrain after opening marginally lower. The market held positive zone in early afternoon trade.

The stock exchanges are holding a special 1-1/2-hour trading session today, 28 April 2012, as the National Stock Exchange (NSE) is upgrading the capacity of its futures and options (F&O) trading system hardware andsoftware to improve processing capability and handle increased activities in the market. Trading which started at 11:15 IST will end at 12:45 IST.

At 12:10 IST, the BSE Sensex was up 25.55 points or 0.15% to 17,159.80. The index rose 60.34 points at the day's high of 17,194.59 in initial trade. The index fell 8.37 points at the day's low of 17,125.88 in initial trade.

The S&P CNX Nifty was up 11 points or 0.21% to 5,201.60. The Nifty hit a high of 5,212.15 and a low of 5,196.35 in intraday trade.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 907 shares gained and 635 shares fell. A total of 76 shares were unchanged.

From the 30-share Sensex pack, 19 rose while the rest declined. Coal India, Tata Power Company and L&T fell by between 0.2% to 0.58%. Maruti Suzuki India, Jindal Steel & Power and Hindalco Industries rose by between 0.67% to 0.99%.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) fell 0.32%, with the stockdeclining for the second straight day. RIL last week reported 21.2% fall in net profit to Rs 4236 crore on 16.7% growth in turnover to Rs 87833 crore in Q4 March 2012 over Q4 March 2011. The company reported GRM (gross refining margin), the difference between the price of petroleum products and crude oil, of $7.6 per barrel in Q4 March 2012 compared with GRM of $6.8 per barrel in Q3 December 2011 and $9.2 per barrel in Q4 March 2011.

Fertiliser shares rose across the board on hopes good monsoon may spur demand for fertilizers on robust crop cultivation. National Fertilizer, Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers, GNFC, GSFC, Tata Chemicals and Chambal Fertiliser & Chemicals rose by between 0.43% to 16.03%.

Banking stocks rose after recent reports that the Cabinet has cleared the much awaited Banking Law (Amendment) Bill. It has been decided that cap on voting rights of shareholders in private sector banks, which is currently at 10%, would be raised to 26%, reports suggest. However, for buying equity stake of above 5%, approval of the central bank will be mandatory.

India's largest private sector bank by net profit ICICI Bank rose 0.79%, with the stock extending Friday's 2.28% gains. During market hours Friday, 27 April 2012, the bank reported 31% growth in net profit to Rs 1902 crore in Q4 March 2012 over Q4 March 2011. Net interest income increased 24% to Rs 3105 crore in Q4 March 2012 over Q4 March 2011. Non-interest income increased by 36% to Rs 2228 crore in Q4 March 2012 over Q4 March 2011.

The bank has recommended a dividend of Rs 16.50 per equity share for the year ended March 2012.

India's second largest private sector bank in terms of net profit HDFC Bank gained 0.64%.

India's largest bank by branch network State Bank of India (SBI) was flat

Axis Bank gained 1.52% after the bank said after market hours on Friday that its profit rose 25.2% to Rs 1277.27 crore on 31.47% growth in total income to Rs 7647.94 crore in Q4 March 2012 over Q4 March 2011.

S&P on Wednesday revised the rating outlook a total of 11 banks/financial institutions in India from stable to negative. The 11 banks/financial institutions are: State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Indian Bank, Axis Bank, Union Bank, HDFC Bank, IDBI Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Infrastructure Development Finance Company, Bank of India and Syndicate Bank. S&P said the revision follows a similar move in terms of the sovereign as financial institutions from India cannot be viewed above the sovereign since policy changes have substantial impact on them. S&P said the rating downgrade for these banks/financial institutions is unlikely since the individual finances of the institutions are unlikely to deteriorate sharply.

S&P has affirmed the long-term and short-term counter-party credit ratings, and the issue ratings on all these financial institutions. Even S&P's banking industry country risk assessment (BICRA) score on India is unchanged at 5.

IT pivotal were lower after latest data showed US economic growth eased in the first quarter of 2012. US is the biggest outsourcing market for Indian IT firms. India's third largest software services exporter by revenues Wipro shed 0.06%. The stock had been under selling pressure recently after the company's management projected flat IT services revenue in Q1 June 2012 at the time of announcement of Q4 March 2012 results on Wednesday. The company has projected a between 1.04% fall to 0.91% growth in revenue from IT services business at $1.52 billion to $1.55 billion in Q1 June 2012 over Q4 March 2012.

Wipro's consolidated net profit as per International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) rose 8% to Rs 1481 crore on 19% growth in total revenue to Rs 9869 crore in Q4 March 2012 over Q4 March 2011.

India's second largest software services exporter by revenue, Infosys fell 0.17%. The stock had witnessed selling pressure recently on reports the company is under scrutiny from US authorities for likely errors in employer eligibility documents of its staff. Infosys has issued a weaker-than-expected revenue growth outlook for the current fiscal year.

Infosys early this week unveiled Infosys BrandEdge in partnership with Fabric, a WPP company. This first-of-its-kind comprehensive cloud-based offering simplifies digital marketing by bringing together integrated marketing and technology expertise on a single unified platform, Infosys said. It transforms the full spectrum of digital marketing activities including creation and management of digital properties, data management, coordination with multiple partners, and campaign execution.

India's largest software services exporter by revenues Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) fell 0.62% on profit booking. The stock had surged recently after the management issued a positive future outlook at the time of announcement of Q4 results after trading hours on Monday. TCS CEO and MD N Chandrasekaran said that the company is well prepared to achieve balanced growth across the industries and markets it operates in, given its holistic portfolio of services which are now achieving significant scale acrossmarkets.

TCS reported 3.3% growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 2895 crore on 0.4% growth in revenue at Rs 13259 crore in Q4 March 2012 over Q3 December 2011. Net profit rose 15% to Rs 10413 crore on 31% growth in revenue at Rs 48894 crore in the year ended March 2012 (FY 2012) over the year ended March 2011 (FY 2011).

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said on Wednesday that it had revised the rating outlooks on Infosys, TCS and Wipro to negative from stable. At the same time, it affirmed 'BBB+' long-term corporate credit ratings on these entities. The outlook revisions follow a similar action on the sovereign credit rating on India.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 376.22 crore on Friday, 27 April 2012, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges. FIIs have sold shares worth Rs 2361.40 crore in five days from 23 to 27 April 2012 as per the provisional data.

Science and Technology Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Thursday, 26 April 2012, said that the country is likely to receive normal monsoon rains for the third year in a row, with the June-September rainfall expected to be 99% of the long-term average. But the possibility of El Nino weather conditions associated with below-normal rains can't be ruled out in the later part of the season. If El Nino does lead to reduced rains, it may prevent India from repeating the bumper harvests of summer-sown crops it recorded in 2010 and 2011 as rainfall distribution is critical for yields. The summer-sown crops in India include rice, oilseeds, pulses, sugar cane and cotton.

The country is highly reliant on monsoons, as more than 60% of the country's farmland is rain-fed and the June-September monsoon season accounts for about 70% of the country's annual rainfall.

India's high savings rate and a favorable debt profile continue to support its sovereign rating, but the economy faces headwinds due to an anemic fiscal health, ratings firm Moody's said Thursday. India's Baa3 government bond ratings incorporate credit strengths such as a diversified economic structure, a relatively strong medium-term growth outlook, fairly robust domestic savings, and adequate international reserve coverage of external liabilities, Moody's analyst Atsi Seth said. Her comments come a day after Standard & Poor's cut India's long-term rating outlook to negative from stable citing slowing growth and a ballooning current account deficit, reflecting India's deteriorating finances that have put its investment grade rating at a risk.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said there was "no need for panic" after the rating agency Standard & Poor's downgraded the country's outlook from stable to negative on Wednesday. India is likely to pass some financial reforms in the current session of parliament, which started on Monday, he added.

Investors are closely watching India Inc's Q4 March 2012 and year ending March 2012 (FY 2012) earnings. Focus is on the guidance provided by the management for the year ending March 2013 (FY 2013) to gauge the earnings outlook.

FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever unveils FY 2012 results on 1 May 2012. Hero MotoCorp and Bharti Airtel unveil Q4 results on 2 May 2012. Bank of Baroda unveils Q4 results on 4 May 2012. Housing finance major HDFC announces FY 2012 results on 7 May 2012. Hindalco and Asian Paints unveil Q4 results on 8 May 2012.

Punjab National Bank and Ranbaxy Laboratories unveil quarterly results on 9 May 2012. NTPC announces FY 2012 results on 10 May 2012. Dr Reddy's Laboratories announces FY 2012 results on 11 May 2012. Bajaj Auto announces FY 2012 results on 17 May 2012. BPCL unveils FY 2012 results on 25 May 2012. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) unveils FY 2012 results on 30 May 2012.

US stocks shrugged off disappointing first-quarter economic growth figures on Friday. Friday brought a lower-than-forecast estimate for first-quarter US growth, of only 2.2%, down from 3% in the final quarter of 2011.